Fastest increase since April 2011.

Exports in China grew strongly by 25 per cent in January 2013 compared to the same month a year ago, while imports grew by 28.8 per cent compared to a growth of 6 per cent in December.

Analysts caution that the rising figures came anhead of the Chinese New Year as companies tried to push their products as much as possible during the holiday season.

Inflation in the country slowed to 2 per cent in January 2013 compared to 2.5 per cent in December.

Zhu Haibin, an economist with JP Morgan, told the Financial Times: “So far what we have seen supports the view that China’s recovery is continuing. But it will be a modest recovery.”

Zhang Zhiwei, an economist with Nomura, told the Financial Times: “This strong export number cannot be fully explained by the Chinese New Year effect alone. These data suggest that external and domestic demand are both strong, which supports our view that the economy is on track for a cyclical recovery in the first half.”